From Cult Films to Folk Rock: Thomas Waites and His Band Heartbreak Waites Hit The Colony

Thomas G. Waites first made his mark as a young actor in cult classics like “The Warriors” and “John Carpenter’s The Thing,” earning early recognition for his intensity and screen presence. A Juilliard-trained performer with an MFA in playwriting from the University of Iowa, Waites has built a far-reaching career across Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, independent film, and teaching—founding his own acting studio in New York City.

But beyond his work on stage and screen, Waites is also a singer-songwriter who blends storytelling, social commentary and Americana influences into his music. His band, Heartbreak Waites, delivers folk, rock and Americana songs that pair protest anthems with harmony-rich original material. The group performs Thursday night at The Colony in Woodstock.

Speaking about the path that brought him from Juilliard to theater, film and now music, Waites said his early training shaped everything he does.

“I came from basically down the street from the ghetto outside of Philadelphia, and Shakespeare is what got me out of there and into Juilliard,” he said. “You can imagine what a shock it was to my system to go from a lower middle-class, blue-collar family to this extraordinarily high-end culture at Lincoln Center — drama, dance, opera. That transition was formidable in forming my character.”

Waites said being surrounded by talent left a lasting impression. “I was in the elevator with Rudolph Nureyev. Leonard Bernstein called us a class. I had really great influences as a young person,” he said. “All of that registers in your subconscious someplace. When you go to write a song, hopefully you have the capacity to draw from that beautiful and brilliant language to tell a story. And never have we needed stories more than we do now.”

A Career Marked by Highs, Lows, and Hard Lessons
Waites was cast in “The Warriors” in his early 20s and later appeared as the character Windows in “The Thing.” Both films became iconic, but their intensity on set was matched by intensity in his own life.

“I was very lucky as a kid. By the time I was 23, I signed a three-picture deal with Paramount,” he said. “My first picture was ‘The Warriors’ with Walter Hill directing, and he and I didn’t get along very well because mostly I was a huge pain in the ass. So he fired me.”

The experience, he said, “left an indelible imprint.”

“It really shocked me, and I realized there might be something wrong with me,” Waites said. “There were mental issues I had to address — addiction among the most profound. That was course-correcting a trajectory toward stardom that I managed to derail pretty effectively.”

Those struggles became a foundation for his work as a teacher and mentor.

“I’ve made all the mistakes, so I can help you from making the same mistakes,” he said. “I try to pass on the knowledge and the wisdom I’ve gained from the damage I self-engineered. I think that can be useful to people.”

He recalled coaching actor Vincent Pastore just as Pastore landed a major television role in “The Sopranos.”

“David Chase [creator of “The Sopranos”]called and said, ‘I wrote a great scene for you — but I’m killing off your character this year.’ Vinny was furious,” Waites said. “I told him, ‘You’re not calling anyone. The only thing you’re going to say is: Mr. Chase, thank you so much for the work you’ve given me.’ That helped him go on and have a terrific career. That’s an example of how I can be useful.”

Bringing Protest Songs to Woodstock
Heartbreak Waites joins him Thursday night, though Waites says he’ll be opening the concert solo with protest music.

“I’m so excited — you have no idea,” he said. “Oh my God. All of my idols — The Band, Bob Dylan — everybody came through there.”

His decision to perform protest songs comes from a sense of urgency, he said.

“Anybody who’s even partly awake to the fascist takeover that’s fallen upon our country — sadly — knows we’ve got to address it,” Waites said. “Seventy-six percent of the people in these detention centers are not guilty of any crime — not even a DUI — but they’re being forced to do labor. All of the horror that’s descended upon our country has got to be addressed.”

Original Songs and a Band Built on “Exploiting” Talent
After the protest set, Heartbreak Waites takes the stage with original music.

“We play almost all original songs,” Waites said. “A lot of them are love songs. It’s very uplifting and fun — cathartic as well.”

He said the band exists for one central reason: to showcase its musicians.

“The main reason I started this band is to exploit the people that are in it,” Waites said with a laugh. “Cedric Allen Hills — if Brian Wilson and David Bowie had a child, it would be Cedric. He’s a musical genius.”

“Tony Daniels is a world-class guitar player,” he added. “And Danny McGovern is a lovely actor and singer who puts the vocal on top. We do a lot of ’60s-type harmonies. People really seem to like it.”

Heartbreak Waites performs at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Colony in Woodstock. More information is available at colonywoodstock.com.

Image: Thomas Waites (center) performing with Heartbreak Waites band members Tony Daniels (left) and Cedric Allen Hills. (Credit: TGW Acting Studio)